


FC Voltron!!

by mightymax



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Sports, Angst, F/F, Futuristic Soccer, Humor, Injury, Romance, Self-Acceptance, pidge's pov
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-14 01:09:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10525743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mightymax/pseuds/mightymax
Summary: Katie Holt has just moved from New York to Minnesota following her brother and dad's disappearance. Upon arriving, she gets a glimpse of the rich girl Allura and asks for advice. Turns out that she prefers guys who play soccer. So despite Katie's hate for the sport, she joins the school's soccer team and disguises herself as a boy. And that's when she first gets thrown into the middle of things.





	1. Chapter 1

Mom and I held our suitcases and stood in front of the door to our new apartment. She was all chirpy and excited about how we were getting a new start. I scoffed. Like this move would make me forget about my own brother and dad.

It happened last year. Dad and Matt were at a soccer game at the Kerberos Stadium. Then they never came back. Mom cried a lot. I was mad. The police asked questions. And that was it.

We moved from our amazing condo in New York to a drabby room in Minnesota. _Minnesota_ , out of all the places in America! The bugs here are endless, the sun is always shining, and the people are smiling and waving at us... it's already driving me _nuts_!

And don't get me started on the landlord. She's a total grump.

So anyways, I tied up my long light brown hair and picked up the boxes full of our essentials, my white and green t-shirt drenched with sweat. Mom ran inside, twirling a bit.

"Isn't this place fantastic?" she laughed. "And the rent was to die for!"

I didn't get why she was so excited. It looked pretty average, with dull paint peeling off the walls a bit and scratches here and there.

"Yeah, sure," I shrugged. "Where do I put these?"

"Just put 'em on the counter," she said. "And wipe that glum look off your face, Katie! This is a good change. And you even get your own room!"

She led me into an even duller looking room that smelled a bit strange.

"You can put your techno-junk here," she pointed to somewhere. "And your clothes in here. Your bed can go here and your desk can--"

"I _get_ it," I sighed. "You go check out your room, Mom. I'll take a look around."

"Okay!" she kissed my forehead. "And remember to sleep on time! You have school tomorrow."

"I don't understand why I have to go to school," I frowned. "Can't we do homeschooling or something?"

" _Katie_ ," Mom stressed on my voice in that you-know-why-we-can't tone. "I have work to do. And you, young miss, should try to make some friends."

"Alright, alright," I waved her off. "What _is_ your new job, anyway?"

"Well," she clapped her hands together. "You know how I was a well-known interior designer back in New York? It turns out that I've got a reputation here, too. So I'm continuing with my previous line of work."

"You think I could get a job, too?" I wondered aloud.

"Oh, don't even _think_ about it!" she pulled my ear playfully. "You're not allowed to get a job. Not until you turn 16."

"Huh," I said. "Just one year. I can wait."

Just then, someone knocked on the door. I opened it to find this bulky guy holding a box full of cookies. He had dark skin, brown eyes, and a yellow headband tied around dark brown hair. If you only looked at him once, you might've assumed that he was an adult. But his eyes were full of life. That's how I knew he was a teenager.

"H-Hi," he stuttered shyly. "I heard you were moving in and I baked you these cookies."

"Oh," I said. "Thanks. Are you the neighbour?"

"Yes!" he nodded happily. I swear, this guy reminded me of a puppy. "I'm Hunk Solomon. I go to Altair High."

"Katie Holt," I shook his hand. "I'm also going to Altair High. How many years have you been there?"

"Ah, I transferred two years ago," he said. "So I understand exactly how you feel. Trust me, I was so nervous, I could've flooded the apartment with my sweat!"

"Gross!" I laughed with him. Mom came to see what in Minnesota had managed to make me smile.

"Oh, is this our neigh--" she interrupted herself when she saw the baked goods. "Oh, _wow_! Those look amazing! Did your mom make these?"

"Uh, I did actually," he muttered with embarrassment. "Hunk Solomon, nice to meet you, ma'am. I was just telling Katie about how I go to the school she's transferring to."

"That's wonderful!" Mom squealed. "Isn't this _amazing_? You've already made a friend, sweetie. And thank you for the welcome cookies, Hunk. Would you like to come inside?"

"No, sorry," he shook his head. "I actually have to help out my mom with the dishes. But she says you're welcome to come by anytime."

"How nice," she smiled at him. "Tell your mom the offer is also open for her and you, okay?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. Holt," he waved at us while he ran back to his apartment. "I'll come back after I'm done!"

When he left, Mom tried one of the cookies. "Mmm, this is delicious! It's nice to see that there are some men out there who actually do something..."

She saw me plop myself onto the sofa while bringing out my 3DS and she sighed. "And it's sad to see a woman laze about. Get up, and go around the neighborhood. I took out your bike, so you can take a round, can't you?"

"Fine," I grunted as I put on my green sweater. "But if I come back with scratches all over me, it's your fault."

As soon as I got out, the cool autumn breeze made my hair fly behind me. I got on my bike and began to pedal down the street.

I passed by a bunch of houses, a park, a pizza place (saved in brain databases for later), and a movie theater. They were all pretty average looking. Very Minnesota-like. And I think I also spotted Second Cup.

My bike was going pretty fast, though. New York's roads were literally embroidered with cracks and potholes. And I didn't have to worry about smoke going in my lungs. The air was fresher than what I was used to, and it occurred to me that not a lot of people used cars here.

As I thought about that, I zoomed past this big mansion. It was white with light blue and black designs all over it. A girl came out, and I caught my breath.

She leaned down to water her roses and sunflowers and whatever other flowers she had, her fluffy white hair surrounding her like a cloud. Her skin was dark, but not as dark as Hunk's. She had long legs and her body was perfect. And her irises. They were like blue mixed with violet. They made her look royal. Basically, she was gorgeous.

I kept staring at her, forgetting that I was riding a bike. I crashed into a wall face-first. My knees got scraped and I'm pretty sure there was a cut on my forehead. The beautiful stranger heard me and peered over her gate to see me getting back on my bike and going home. But she never saw my face.

* * *

 

I parked the bike in the garage and went to the kitchen to pull out a few bandages. Mom came out to take a look.

"Huh," she nodded. "You really did get banged up. Did you see anything interesting?"

"I saw a pizza place," I said. "And Second Cup. We should go there sometime."

"Definitely," she paused to stare at me. "What's up with that kooky grin? Did you meet someone?"

"Well, I didn't really say anything," I murmured. "And she never really saw me, but--"

"You met a _girl_!" she cut me off, and who could blame her? I wasn't good at making friends with anybody, let alone girls. "Was she pretty?"

"She's..." I gazed at my shoes. "Yeah, she is."

Mom noticed my reddening cheeks and smirked knowingly. "Maybe she's a student at Altair, hmm?"

"M-Maybe," I shrugged. Just then, Hunk knocked on the door. He came with his mom this time, and my mom made her some tea. Hunk and I went to my room.

"Didn't unpack yet, huh?" asked Hunk. "I can help y-- oh, wow, are those _neodymium_ magnets?"

I perked up. "You know what neodymium magnets are?"

"Of course I do!" he grinned. "I'm an engineer and science enthusiast. It would be a shame if I didn't know."

"I've never meet anyone who loves science and tech as much as I do," I dumped all my junk onto the dusty floor. "I was actually planning to use the magnets as part of my mini railgun."

"A railgun?" he blinked. "What're you gonna use that for?"

"Shooting people on Halloween with water balloons," I replied. "My arm gets sore after a while."

"Great idea," he said. "Don't know why I haven't thought of that before."

As we fiddled with random parts, a mustered up the courage to ask him about the pretty girl.

"Hey, Hunk," I cleared my throat. "Does anybody in the school live in, like, a mansion?"

"Yup," he grunted as he pulled apart two magnets. "Allura Payton. Lives not too far from here. She's one of the top students in our school _and_ the council prez. And she's really beautiful. Like, exotic and beautiful. They say that she descended from _royalty_. I guess you could say she's a friend of mine."

"Does she have a boyfriend?" I asked a bit too quickly. Hunk raised an eyebrow at me.

"No," he said slowly. "But I've heard rumours. They say that she prefers guys who play soccer."

My hopes were crushed by the words "guys" and "soccer".

"I see," I sighed. Hunk noticed my shoulders slump.

"Um, Katie," he fidgeted with a screw. "A-Are you... uh, y'know... _gay_?"

I smiled weakly. "Yeah. You're welcome to leave now, if you want to."

"Wh-What?! No no no!" he waved his arms frantically. "I-I really don't mind! I mean, it's so _stupid_ how you guys are seen as freaks. Just because you're attracted to girls doesn't change the fact that you're human. I know a few guys, but I've never met a girl who rolls that way. It's nice to meet different types of people."

I was a bit shocked, when he accepted me so easily. "Are all Minnesotans like this?"

Hunk chuckled. "Well, not all. Ah, but wait, when did you learn about Allura?"

"I passed by her home," I admitted. "And I rode into a brick wall."

"And I'm assuming that's how you got all those bruises."

"Uh-huh."

He got up and stretched. "Uh, I'm not too sure about Allura's preferences. I've never really seen her getting interested in relationship. But I know that she loves soccer. So if you wanna impress her, you could join the soccer team. Oh, wait, girls aren't allowed on the team."

"That's sexist," I growled. "But it doesn't matter. I don't even _like_ soccer much."

"Why?" Hunk asked. "It's way more cooler than what it used to be."

Ten years ago, soccer was played by people. Now it's played by people controlling massive _robots_. The ball is huge, and so is the field. Everyone went nuts because of this upgraded soccer. I didn't care. I mean, who wants to play such a time-consuming game?

"Think about it," Hunk said as he left. "I'm sure that genius brain of yours can find a solution. See you at school tomorrow."

I watched him and his mom leave. Then I sat on my(temporary)sleeping bag and brainstormed.

"OK, so this Allura is thought to like guys," I said to myself. "And she's _known_ to adore soccer. So I guess I should try to join. But how am I supposed to do that? Hunk said that the team only accepts boys(once again, sexist)..... Oh my god. I just came up with the most insane idea ever."

I realized that if I was a _boy_ , I'd be able to play. All I had to do was trick everyone into thinking I was a guy! But that would mean changing my medical records. And if I make friends who want to come to the apartment, what will I tell them? "Sorry, you can't come over because you'll totally blow my cover(I'm a girl!)." Mom would find out in an instant.

On the other hand, I really did want to get to know Allura. And it seems that she doesn't really make friends. If I was a team player, I'd definitely get to know her, right?

I opened my laptop which I'd been upgrading over the years.

"Goodbye, Katie Holt," I said as I hacked into the school records. "Hello, Pidge Gunderson."

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**September 20, Monday**

I woke up at 5 a.m., making sure Mom had already left for work. Hunk has a license, so he agreed to drive me to school. That way, Mom was able to work as much as she wanted, whenever she wanted.

I snuck into her bathroom and-- wait, why am I sneaking around? Nobody's here but me. I stomped into her bathroom, let out a random yell and snatched the scissors. Then I jumped over the sofa and kept yelling.

Don't give me that look. I know you do things like this when you're alone.

The picture I swapped my school record's image with was Matt's, so I had to look exactly like him. I cut my hair until it resembled his hairstyle, and I put on a fake pair of glasses. To be honest, when I looked at myself in the mirror, I thought Matt was back. Stupid me.

At around 7 a.m., I knocked on Hunk's door. He opened it slowly, yawning his eyes while wearing yellow pajamas.

"Huh?" he blinked at me, then jumped back in realization. "Y-You're actually going to try joining the team."

"You don't need to worry about the principal," I smirked. "I hacked into the medical database and the school's database. They won't suspect a thing. What we need to worry about us my mom. You better not tell her anything."

"Katie," he said. "You are _cross-dressing_ so that you can play a sport that you _hate_ to impress a girl who you've only seen _once_. Are you absolutely sure you want to do this...?"

"I'm not 'Katie' anymore," I said to him. "I'm Pidge Gunderson. Now hurry up and get ready. We've gotta get there as early as we can and you've already wasted 10 minutes!"

"Sorry about that," he muttered just before he went to get dressed.

We got into his car. It was an average yellow Toyota Corolla. He made sure I was buckled up. Then he hit a switch that sent us speeding out of the garage faster than Sonic the freaking Hedgehog.

We got stuck at a highway for a bit, but we managed to reach the school on time. I gazed at all the students running into the school. Some were in groups. Some were alone. And some were in desperate need of a shave.

Hunk brought me into the building. It looked like any other high school I'd ever seen. There were a bunch of trophies on display, and I noticed none belonged to the soccer team.

"We got pulverized easily," Hunk explained. "Because our fifth player was always terrible."

He dropped me off in front of my homeroom. Most people were already sitting in their seats. The teacher came after a while. He had orange hair, a noticeably bushy mustache, and purple eyes. He wore slacks, a light blue collar shirt and a white tie.

"Morning, everyone!" he said with an accent. "Seems we've got a new student on our hands. Someone called Mr. 'Pidge Gunderson'?"

Who? Oh, right. "That's me."

"Nice to meet you, lad," he smiled. "Name's Mr. Smith. I'll be your homeroom and history teacher. Here's your schedule for the entire week, and a holographic layout of the school. Would you like a student to help you around?"

"No, thanks," I said as nicely as I could. I didn't like asking strangers to help me. If I needed help, I could just go to Hunk.

I sat down in front of a boy with a chipped tooth and blond rat tail hair. He spit on the back of my neck and flashed a crooked grin at me.

"Well," I cringed. "This is just fantastic."

* * *

"Are you kidding me?"

I sat with Hunk at lunch, telling him about my day so far. He was getting increasingly worried with every new thing I told him.

First we had Biology with Mr. Shirogane. Everybody just calls him "Mr. Shiro". I feel like I'd seen him before, but I don't remember where. I liked him, though. He was firm yet fun-loving.

Then came History with Mr. Smith, who explained everything in a peculiar way(waved his arms a lot and said words like "blah blah blah mustache" I think).

Math was taught by Mr. Slav. A skinny guy, who is in no way a comedian. He's a neat-freak, that I know. Which is something I can't say about the acne-faced jerk who thankfully took a seat far, far away from me.

And after that was a subject I had been fearing ever since I was a kid: Phys.Ed.

See, it's hard enough being a girl who hasn't reached her growth spurt yet while playing with giant boys who have beards. But to top it off, our gym teacher was a paranoid meat-head named Mr. Kolivan. I'm sorry, I really am, but I think I could've liked him a little more if he screamed less.

"C'mon!" the man himself hollered. "At least try to wrestle him, Gunderson!"

I barely escaped with my life. Which is what I was telling Hunk.

"What did you expect?" sighed Hunk. "You're a 'guy' now. And guys were bred to be 'rough'."

"Yo, Hunk!" a boy called out. He came to our table and sat down beside Hunk. This guy was way skinnier, with short brown hair, tan skin, and wide blue eyes. "I thought you liked sitting near the window."

"Eh," Hunk shrugged. "Pidge, this is Lance Martinez. He's on the soccer team."

"Hey," I shook hands with him. "Pidge Gunderson. I was actually interested in joining the team."

"You wanna sign up?" he stifled a laugh. "No offense, little dude, but I'm not so sure the Green Lion wants his paladin to be so... short."

He showed me how tall I was. As if I don't already know.

"What does he mean, 'Green Lion' and 'paladin'?" I asked Hunk.

"The lions are the robots we use to play," replied Hunk. "The paladins are the ones who control the lions. Green is the only lion that hasn't found his paladin yet. I control the Yellow Lion."

"Me and Blue are best buds for life!" winked Lance. "Our leader, the one who controls the Black Lion, prefers to keep his identity a secret from anyone who isn't a team player. But he's totally awesome. Oh, and then there's Keith, this hot-headed guy with a mullet. He's in charge of the Red Lion."

"Lions..." I repeated. It was amazing how technology had changed over the years.

"Hey, it's Allura!" Lance said. "Hey there, beautiful!"

I saw her again. Her hair was loose. She wore a white collar shirt with a pink and black cardigan, along with a pink skirt and white boots. I noticed her amethyst earrings as well. My face heated up, and I quickly wiped off the fried chicken from my face. I mean, there's a 1/1000 chance that she'll look at me. I have to be vigilant, y'know?

"Hello, you two," she said in this amazing accent that made her seem like a princess. "I see Keith isn't here."

"He's probably brooding," shrugged Lance. "Anyways, forget Keith. Meet this kid! He says he wants to join--"

"Where'd he go?" Hunk looked around. I poked him from under the table and told him to be quiet.

"Huh," Lance scratched his head. "Well, he's going to try out for the team. You should come watch. We know how much you love soccer and the lions."

"Why not?" I saw her smile a bit. "Perhaps he'll be the true Green Lion paladin. I'll see you both after school."

She left, and I emerged from my hiding spot, effectively scaring Lance out of his skin.

"What the hell, man?!" he shouted. "Why were you under the table?"

"It's because of Fleming over there," Hunk pointed to that ratty boy from earlier. "Pidge doesn't like him at all."

"You don't need to get onto your knees to avoid that guy," sighed Lance. "You should just call one of us if he's bothering you. Oh, forget about calling Hunk though. He's what you might call a 'gentle giant'."

"No objection here," agreed Hunk as he munched on his last chicken wing. "I'm a lover, not a fighter."

The bell rang. I had two more periods left.

"Yo, Pidge, did your homeroom teacher give you a holographic map of the school?" Lance asked. I brought it out and showed it to him. "Okay, you see this field over here? It's the outdoor field. That's where the first test takes place. Be there as soon as the final bell rings. Adios!"

He and Hunk ran off. I got to my English class with Mr. Ulaz just in time.

* * *

The outdoor field was vast. A bit bigger than the one in my old school. The sky was clear and the sun shone upon me. It was the perfect day for a nice little game of soccer...

"Hey," a guy with black hair said. He had a hard expression and crossed arms. "You Gunderson?"

"Y-Yes," I eyed him with uncertainty. This guy was definitely not friendly.

"Took you long enough," he scoffed. "The other wannabe members always got here before the bell even rang. I'm Keith Park, the Red Lion's pilot. I believe you've already met Hunk and Lance."

"Woo!" Hunk cheered from the stands. "You can do it, K--I mean--Pidge!"

"That's the kid I was talking about!" Lance told Allura, who was staring right at me. I took long, deep breaths to steady my heart beat.

"Let's try running," Keith said. We got into the traditional starting position. "On your mark... get set... GO!"

In a matter of seconds, he was onto me.

"H-How was that?" I panted.

"You lost by 1.8 seconds," he frowned. "The keyword here is 'lost'. Next phase: strength. Tackle me."

So I did. Except I couldn't.

"You aren't moving me at all," he stated. To be honest, he was really starting to make me angry. "Final phase of the physical test: how you play."

"How I play?" I blinked when he threw me the ball. I had to adjust my glasses a bit. "But aren't the Lion's going to handle the ball?"

"If you're not into the sport yourself," he explained. "Then you shouldn't be playing. Now show me something worth my time."

I gulped. Allura was watching me. Lance and Hunk were watching me. I had to at least try.

"Uh... what about this?" I kicked the ball as high as I could, then balanced it on my nose. Matt taught me that trick when I was little. I'm surprised I still remembered how to do it.

"Whoa!" Lance grinned. "You have got to teach me that!"

"There's hope," Hunk nodded to himself. "There's hope there's hope th--"

"You fail."

I froze for a while, then turned to look at Keith. We were all gaping at him as though he had come from the darkest corner of the universe. Even Allura was a bit shocked.

"Speed barely meets the average," he said while writing notes on a clipboard. "No strength whatsoever and a mediocre trick that would've been more appreciated in the circus. You fail, Gunderson."

"But I--"

"Are you not listening?" he growled. "You're done. Get lost."

I tried to ignore the tears that threatened to form as I picked up my bag and stomped away. Hunk quickly ran after me.

"I'm sorry," he put a hand on my shoulder. "I put this crazy idea into your head."

"I should," I said tensely. "I'm should just go home and change my records back to normal."

He kept his hand on my shoulder until we got into the car. I could still hear Lance.

"What's your problem, mullet-head?!"

* * *

I arrived home to the sound of barking.

"Gunther!" I cried out happily and ran to cuddle my only true friend in life(sorry Hunk). "Where'd he go, Mom?"

"I guess he wanted to stroll around Minnesota," she gave me a smile. It faded as soon as she saw my new look.

"Just like Matt," she gasped. "I just wish he and your dad were here to see this. You really are his sister, huh?"

"Yeah," I chuckled weakly. "Just like Matt."

I sat in my room with Gunther and we discussed how stuck-up Keith Park was.

* * *

"Katie?"

A voice that could only be recognized as Hunk's followed five knocks on my door.

"Katie, put on the clothes you were wearing for the team tryouts!" he shouted.

I poked my head through the door's opening. "What? Why?"

"Our captain wants to give you another chance," he replied. "We thought Keith was being a total jerkass because he was judging you based on your performance alone. He didn't even let you see the Green Lion, for crying out loud! So-- hey, is that a dog? I love dogs! C'mere, boy!"

He rubbed Gunther behind the ears and continued. "Where was I... oh, yeah! Allura complained to our captain. He scolded Keith so much, and Lance was trying so hard not to die."

"Allura complained?" I asked, my eyes widening. "She doesn't even know me. I haven't said a word to her."

"She thought your trick was cute," Hunk answered. "And she had a good feeling about you. Lance told me that she grilled Keith even more."

I tried to suppress the smile that ws beginning to form on my face. It didn't work. "Does this mean I have to go back tomorrow?"

"Nope," he shook his head. "We're going right now. Put on a sweater over your clothes, too. It's kinda cold out there."

* * *

There I was, standing on the exact same field I had failed my test on. Keith, Lance, and Hunk sat on the sidelines, with the former sitting by himself. Another man wearing a helmet than covered his face-- who I assume was the captain--sat in the top rows. Allura, on the other hand, was standing with me, a clipboard in hand.

"We'll do it exactly like how we did it before," she said without looking at me. "First up is speed. Keith?"

The quiet emo jerk got up and stood beside me.

"On your mark... get set... go!"

Just like before, I lost to him.

"Let's see," Allura looked at her stopwatch. "You lost by 1.3 seconds. You've improved by 0.5 seconds. Not bad. Next is strength."

I pushed him as hard as I could, but I ended up shattering my own shoulder instead.

"It's alright," Allura nodded, still not looking at me. "It's obvious that strength is not your strongest aspect. Each player is there to compensate for what the other does not have. Example: if you work on your speed, you'd compensate for everyone else's lack of it. Last test: show us a trick."

I noticed the corners if her mouth turning up slightly as I preformed the same trick I did before.

"And we're done with the paladin's physical state test," she turned to look at the captain. "What do you think?"

"His physical condition isn't exactly what I'd call 'excellent'," he replied as he walked towards us. "But his spirit was impressive. Pidge Gunderson, right?"

I nodded, but I was more focused on his voice. Where have I heard it before?

"Follow me," he said. I was led to the indoor field. It was like the outdoor field, but with a huge dome ceiling over us that kept rain out and sunlight in. Keith opened up one of the gigantic garage doors that were on the side of the field to reveal something that would decide whether or not I could become a team player.

It was the Green Lion.

All I could do was gaze up in astonishment. The tech used to make this metal feline blew me away! I didn't even know what metal it was made of! And trust me, if I don't know, it must be something big.

"Touch it," Allura said.

I placed a single hand on the force field that seemed to surround the lion, and it immediately disappeared. Green roared.

"..." Keith stood silently as she(yes, not every lion has to be male) lowered and opened her jaw for me climb inside.

What awaited me was this huge control panel and a really nice pilot's chair. I saw what Green saw, and what she saw was Lance and Hunk tripping over each other while trying to leap for joy. Keith left. He's probably not used to being proven wrong. Allura smiled at the previous two's dorkiness. As for the captain...

"Welcome to the team, Pidge," he said as he appeared beside me. He took off his helmet and I facepalmed myself for not recognizing who he was from his voice alone. Mr. Shiro smiled at me.

"I'm the captain of this team," he told me. "And the Black Lion's pilot. During class, you'll address me by Mr. Shiro. But when we are training, I'm just 'Shiro'. Got it?"

"Yessir," I smiled back as I saluted him.

My name is Katie Holt. Today, I undertook the identity of Pidge Gunderson and tried out for Atlair's soccer team. From this day on, and hopefully for a very long time, I am the Green Lion's paladin. 

Take that, Keith.

 

 

 

 


End file.
